The annual Wildcat Open is always one of the most competitive tournaments in the state and if present performance is any indication of future success, you have to feel great about Men's Water Polo's opening day success. DP knocked off defending State Champion Miami Gulliver (13-7) and Miami Columbus (9-4) to improve to 5-0 on the season. Against Gulliver, DP fought tooth and nail in the opening quarter, coming back to tie the score three times on goals by Reed Davis, Ian Supra and Ian Perkins before taking the lead for good, 4-3, on a one-timer by Supra from Davis with 50 seconds left. In the second quarter, Reed Davis went top shelf just 16 seconds in to make it 5-3 and after Gulliver got one back, Ian Supra returned the favor with a dart into the right corner to make it 6-4. After another Davis goal gave the Panthers a 7-4 lead, Supra came back again with a pair of goals and Davis hit for two more as well, the second following a spectacular save by Nick Lachinski on a Gulliver breakaway. Reed Davis finished off his seven-goal performance with a penalty shot into the right corner and a power play goal into the upper right 90 for the 13-7 final. Ian Supra closed out with five goals and Ian Perkins one.

DP's second game of the day was more of a nail-biter, at least in the first half. After Reed Davis put a shot into the upper right 90, Columbus responded with three scores to lead 3-1 into the second quarter. Davis brought the Panthers back into the lead with three unanswered goals; the second into the top right corner as the shot clock expired and the third on a power play with 1:10 left in the half. With a 4-3 lead in the third quarter, freshman Parker Sellers scooped up a rebound and punched it home just 28 seconds in and Ian Perkins blasted one in from the top of the arc to double the score at 6-3. Columbus curbed the bleeding with a goal but Reed Davis' power play goal with 35 seconds left pushed the margin back to three, 7-4. In the fourth, Ian Supra and Reed Davis registered goals for the 9-4 final. Davis finished with six goals (13 for the day), while Ian Supra, Parker Sellers and Ian Perkins completed the scorecard. The Panthers will take on St. Thomas Aquinas and Suncoast tomorrow.